Rockets games referee worked in questionAfter review, ex-NBA official says evidence in Donaghy gambling case tough to see

By Jonathan Feigen |
July 28, 2007

NBA referee Tim Donaghy worked the Jan. 17 Rockets-Suns game. It has drawn interest because the point spread moved from three points to nine the day of the game. The Suns won by nine points.

As minds throughout the NBA raced to recall details of the games Tim Donaghy officiated, to disputed calls and controversial moments, there were two Rockets games that immediately commanded attention.

The Rockets' loss to the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 17 and the win against the Orlando Magic on Feb. 25 stood out as games certain to draw the interest of investigators looking into whether Donaghy influenced the results of NBA games.

NBA commissioner David Stern acknowledged the FBI had informed him Donaghy provided information to gamblers and bet on NBA games, including those he officiated, both in violation of NBA rules.

Donaghy resigned July 9, with the FBI investigation of his actions and possible ties to organized crime ongoing.

Stern said he has not been told which games Donaghy might have compromised, though if Donaghy was willing to gamble on games he officiated, it would not be a stretch to think he would also be willing to influence their results.

Donaghy was assigned four Rockets games last season, but the game against the Suns in January has drawn attention because of the movement of the betting line and results.

The Suns had been favored to win by 3 1/2 points the day before the game. They were favored by nine by game time (though the line might have moved so greatly because Tracy McGrady left the game the previous night with a sore back and did not play against the Suns). The Suns won by nine.

"The big trend with him in particular is that the first 15 games last season he refereed where we saw line movement of at least 1 1/2 points were a perfect 15-of-15 for the big-money people betting," said Matty O'Shea, general manager of content at pregame.com and a handicapper. "The odds of that happening randomly are only 33,000-to-1."

O'Shea said there were several games with explanations for dramatic movement of the line.

Because of that, he said "You have to back it up with the information, with the tape to see what's going on at the end of the game.

"He led the NBA in calling fouls, in free-throw attempts the last two seasons. That's kind of a red flag. He's a whistle-happy ref. There's a game (between) Miami and New York, the free-throw differential was 39-8. A four-point favorite won by six, and the total went over by a half-point.

"Last season, 13 games he did fell within a single point of the point spread. We found in the last two seasons, 14 games were decided by two points or less."

Wrong player whistled

In February in Orlando, Donaghy drew attention when early in the fourth quarter he called a fifth foul on Rockets guard Rafer Alston though the foul clearly was committed by Luther Head.

Donaghy called a technical foul on Alston and refused to consider veteran official Derrick Stafford's offer to consult about which player committed the foul.

That was enough to examine those games more closely, with the help of Mel Whitworth, who has officiated basketball or taught officiating for 37 years, including a five-year stint as an NBA official.

"I've watched Tim referee on many occasions," said Whitworth, an NBA official from 1985 to 1990. "I've never thought he was a very good referee. Obviously, the NBA thinks different because he worked the playoffs. But it breaks my heart.

"I don't even know the young man, but it's sad for the game, it's sad that it can happen when you get into the clutches of those horrible people. But he is a grown man. He should never let that happen. It's devastating. Even though I didn't know him personally, it hurts me. It's never happened before."

Evidence inconclusive

But when Whitworth began examining the Rockets games Donaghy officiated, he found little to draw attention. For most of the game against the Suns, Donaghy made few calls and most of the calls he made were "easy."

Instead, it seemed to indicate Donaghy was not trying to influence the result. With the score close to pregame lines, he quickly deferred to Zielinski, who changed the call to favor the Rockets.

"If Donaghy was trying to keep the Rockets under the spread, he likely would not have made the call against Lucas. If he was trying to favor the Suns, he would seem unlikely to so quickly defer to another official, particularly given Donaghy's very assertive officiating style.

"Gary is very passive, much less than Donaghy. If he was trying to influence the line there, it would have been easy. If he comes out strong, they go to the line, and the lead is eight or nine."

In the Rockets game against Orlando, Donaghy made three traveling calls Whitworth did not like because they came with inconsequential shuffling of feet. There also were three quick three-second violations that Whitworth thought were unnecessary stoppages of the game.

No pattern

But of those six violations, three penalized the Rockets, and three penalized the Magic.

Donaghy assigned a second foul to McGrady in the first half that should have been called on Dikembe Mutombo, though both players were close to the play.

But with 8:50 left in the game, when Alston was charged for a foul Head committed, Whitworth's reaction was, "That's not even close.

"But my reaction would be he just kicked ... the play. As lead referee, I would tell him, 'I guarantee you missed the play, I tried to tell you and don't listen to me, shame on you.' "

But a moment later, with a close call that could have gone either way without raising suspicion, Donaghy made a call that benefited the Rockets.

"Again, there's no pattern," Whitworth said. "He made a stupid call. This one was legit. But we know, especially on this level, referees have to be cocky. He was being too cocky.

"Even knowing what we know, I see zero, absolutely zero (suspicious). There were a couple ticky-tack calls, but we have those in every game. There was one play, with the wrong number (called), but there was no pattern. If I said we're looking at these referees being corrupt, you would have no idea which one it would be. And if I told you which one, you could not say which (team) he was favoring."

'Difficult to see something'

But Whitworth said the exercise proved something. It showed, he said, how difficult it will be for investigators to find or prove game-fixing.

"It will be very difficult to see something," he said. "You'd have to have someone looking that knows not just what to look for, but to be able to say 'That's why he made a call.'

"If you are the FBI, you have absolutely nothing that comes close to saying Tim Donaghy is a rogue referee. In those two games, that's as good as I've seen him referee. I would have given good scores.

"They'll have to look at every game and see not only calls but enough to know why those calls were made."